New leadership for Lakers
From Broderick Turner: The bromance between Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remains strong and it’s a bond the Lakers will lean on with LeBron James no longer on the team.
After eight years of James being the Lakers’ leader, the role now will be shared by Doncic and Reaves.
Doncic already took a step in that direction when he invited his teammates to his home country of Slovenia in August for a bonding trip.
Reaves chided Doncic about losing in rowing, bowling and golf while they were in Slovenia together.
Reminded about it Monday at the Lakers’ media day, Doncic immediately retorted: “I beat him in golf two days ago. … He didn’t say that, huh?”
The two friends and teammates have developed a closeness that their teammates have noticed.
“They get along so well that it’s kind of easy for them to co-lead this team — in different ways sometimes,” Jake LaRavia said. “I think sometimes Luka leads by example and we watch him and we watch how he goes about himself. AR can sometimes be a bit more vocal. But I think they both do a great job at what they are good at it when it comes to being leaders for this team.”
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Clippers look toward the future
From Joaquin Ruiz: A new age of Clippers basketball started on Monday.
It’s about moving on, or attempting to, after the franchise endured a nightmare offseason.
“My entire summer’s been basketball,” guard Darius Garland nonchalantly said during media day at Intuit Dome. “My main thing is to come in here and win games. So, that’s my main focus.”
The Clippers’ offseason was engulfed by the NBA’s salary-cap circumvention investigation into the team’s endorsement deals with Kawhi Leonard. The NBA fined the Clippers $30 million, stripped them of five first-round picks, dealt suspensions to owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank — and the Clippers ultimately traded Leonard, who was fined merely $700,000, back to Toronto.
Garland represented his teammates in prioritizing hoops.
But for Trent Redden, the Clippers’ interim president of basketball operations, things weren’t that simple. The admittedly nervous executive started Monday’s news conferences by apologizing to the Clippers’ faithful for the aftermath of the Leonard situation.
Sean McVay doesn’t make excuses for Rams’ loss
From Gary Klein: A controversial pass-interference call cost the Rams dearly in their defeat by the Denver Broncos, but coach Sean McVay said Monday that neither he nor the team would play the victim card.
With just over a minute left in the game, Rams cornerback Josh Wallace battled with Broncos receiver Pat Bryant before intercepting a Bo Nix pass at the Rams’ seven-yard line. Had the play stood, it would have preserved a second consecutive Rams victory.
But officials cited Wallace for pass interference, giving the Broncos another set of downs. Nix eventually scored a touchdown to give the Broncos a 30-26 lead and an eventual victory that dropped the Rams to 1-2.
“I’m not going to play the victim card,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “Doesn’t really matter. It is what it is. That was the call that was made, and there was a lot of opportunities that we had to be able to close the door on that game. … I wouldn’t have any additional coaching points for how Josh plays through the cycle of the snap.
“But I’m not going to make excuses either and we’re not going to play the victim card.”
MLB postseason schedule
National League
No. 3 Atlanta vs. No. 6 Philadelphia
Tuesday at Atlanta, 11 a.m., NBC/Peacock
Wednesday at Atlanta, 11 a.m., NBC/Peacock
*Thursday at Atlanta, 11 a.m., NBC/Peacock
No. 4 San Diego vs. No. 5 Chicago
Tuesday at San Diego, 7 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN
Wednesday at San Diego, 7 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN
*Thursday at San Diego, 7 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN
American League
No. 3 Houston vs. No. 6 Chicago
Tuesday, 2 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN
Wednesday, 2 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN
*Thursday, 2 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN
No. 4 New York vs. No. 5 Boston
Tuesday, 5 p.m., NBC/Peacock
Wednesday, 5 p.m., NBC/Peacock
*Thursday, 5 p.m., NBC/Peacock
*-if necessary
Note: NLDS and ALDS start Saturday.
NLCS starts Sunday, Oct. 11
ALCS starts Monday, Oct. 12
World Series starts Friday, Oct. 23
This day in sports history
1923 — Gene Sarazen beats Walter Hagen 1 up to capture the PGA championship.
1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Lou Nova in the sixth round at the Polo Grounds in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.
1967 — American boxer Emile Griffith regains his world middleweight crown on points in a brawling re-match with Italian Nino Benvenuti at Shea Stadium, NY; second of famous trilogy of fights.
1974 — Dr. Norbert Sander Jr. wins the New York City Marathon in 2:26:30 and Kathy Switzer capture the women’s division in 3:07:29.
1977 — Muhammad Ali wins a unanimous 15-round decision over Earnie Shavers at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain his world heavyweight title.
1984 — Mike Prindle of Western Michigan sets an NCAA record by kicking seven field goals in a 42-7 rout over Marshall.
1985 — Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon is sacked 12 times in a 17-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys to tie an NFL record.
1988 — American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee wins her second gold medal of the Seoul Olympics by taking the long jump with an Olympic record leap of 7.40m; previously won the heptathlon.
1988 — American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner sets women’s 200m world record 21.34; completes sprint double at the Seoul Olympics.
1988 — U.S. men’s basketball team beats Australia 78-49 to take the bronze medal at the Seoul Olympics; last time US represented by a team that doesn’t feature NBA players.
1988 — U.S. retain women’s basketball title at he Seoul Olympics with a 77-70 win over Yugoslavia; star guard Teresa Edwards top scores for the Americans with 18 points.
1991 — Pat Bradley wins the MBS LPGA Classic by one shot over Michelle Estill for her 30th career victory, qualifying her for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
1995 — The NHL and NHL Players Assn. strike a deal to allow league players to participate in the 1998 Winter Olympics.
2000 — At the Sydney Olympics, the U.S. men’s basketball team escapes the humiliation of playing for a bronze medal with an 85-83 victory over Lithuania in the semifinals. It’s the closest victory and biggest scare for a U.S. Olympic team since NBA players started competing in 1992.
2002 — After losing to Iowa State, Nebraska drops out of the Associated Press Top 25 football poll after being ranked for 348 consecutive weeks. The last time Nebraska was missing from the poll was Oct. 5, 1981.
2002 — Seattle’s Shaun Alexander scores an NFL-record five touchdowns in the first half of a 48-23 rout of Minnesota. He finishes with 139 yards rushing and 92 receiving and one TD short of the league mark of six in a game.
2012 — Geno Smith throws for 656 yards and ties a Big 12 record with eight touchdown passes to lead No. 9 West Virginia to a 70-63 win over No. 25 Baylor. Smith outduels Baylor’s Nick Florence, who has a standout game of his own with 581 yards and five TDs. Baylor’s Terrance Williams sets a Big 12 record with 314 yards receiving. The old mark was set minutes earlier by West Virginia’s Stedman Bailey, who had 303 yards and five TDs.
2015 — NCAA bans the SMU men’s basketball team from the postseason and suspends coach Larry Brown for nine games, saying he lied to investigators and ignored a case of academic fraud by a player.
2018 — Seventeen-year-old Hailie Deegan uses a bump-and-run on her teammate to become the first female winner of a NASCAR K&N West Series race. Her last-lap shove of Cole Rouse at Meridian Speedway in Idaho gives her the victory.
2020 — Ben Ainslie wins the Olympic gold medal in the Laser class, beating previous Laser Olympic champion Robert Scheidt.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1913 — Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators finished the season with 36 victories by virtue of a 1-0 decision over the Philadelphia A’s.
1915 — The Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first NL pennant, beating the Boston Braves, 5-0, behind Grover Alexander’s one-hitter.
1954 — Willie Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz’s long drive to center field and pinch-hitter Dusty Rhodes homered off Bob Lemon in the 10th inning to lead the New York Giants to a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the World Series.
1963 — John Paciorek of the Houston Colt .45s, in his only major league appearance, went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and four runs scored against the New York Mets. A back injury ended his baseball career the next season.
1976 — John Montefusco of the San Francisco Giants pitched a 9-0 no-hitter over the Braves in Atlanta.
1983 — Mike Warren of the Oakland A’s pitched a no-hitter to beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-0.
1986 — Minnesota’s Bert Blyleven broke Robin Roberts’ 1956 record of 46 home runs allowed in a season when he gave up a two-out, third-inning homer to Cleveland rookie Jay Bell. It was the first major league pitch Bell had seen. Despite giving up two more homers, Blyleven was the winner when the Twins rallied in the eighth for a 6-5 victory.
1986 — Chicago Cubs rookie Greg Maddux defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 8-3 in the City of Brotherly Love. The losing pitcher was his brother, Mike, also a rookie. It was the first time brothers faced each other as rookie pitchers.
1996 — Brady Anderson of the Baltimore Orioles became the 14th player to reach the 50-homer mark in a 4-1 loss at Toronto. Anderson’s previous season high was 21.
2001 — Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki set the major league rookie record for hits in a season but the Mariners fell to Oakland 8-4. Suzuki got his 234th hit, breaking the previous rookie mark set by Shoeless Joe Jackson with Cleveland in 1911.
2004 — Major League Baseball announces that the Montreal Expos franchise will move to Washington D.C.
2011 — The Tampa Bay Rays clinched the AL wild card with a stunning rally, overcoming a late seven-run deficit and then beating the New York Yankees 8-7 on Evan Longoria’s home run in the 12th inning. The Rays’ win came four minutes after Boston blew a one-run lead in the ninth at Baltimore and lost 4-3. The Red Sox held a nine-game lead over the Rays in early September. Boston became the first team to miss the postseason after leading by as many as nine games for a playoff spot entering September.
2011 — Chris Carpenter and St. Louis completed one of the more remarkable comebacks in baseball history, clinching the NL wild card with an 8-0 win over Houston and a later loss by Atlanta. The Cardinals got their playoff spot when the Braves fell to Philadelphia 4-3 in 13 innings. St. Louis trailed Atlanta by 10 1/2 games on Aug. 25. The Cardinals won 23 of their last 31 games.
2013 — On the last day of the season, Miami’s Henderson Alvarez pitched one of baseball’s most bizarre no-hitters. Alvarez celebrated in the on-deck circle when the Marlins score on a two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Detroit Tigers 1-0.
2017 — Rockies OF Charlie Blackmon set a new record for RBIs by a leadoff hitter, 101, with a two-run home run in the second inning.
2018 — The Yankees set a new record for home runs in a season with No. 265 hit by Gleyber Torres in the fifth inning against the Red Sox. It eclipses the mark set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners, but will be topped again next season.
2022 — Another day, another incredible performance by Shohei Ohtani. Today, he takes a no-hitter into the 8th inning before giving up a single to Conner Capel with two out, on his way to winning his 15th of the year, 4-2 over the Athletics. The Angels’two-way superstar also shines at the plate, going 2 for 4 with an RBI and extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.